Dead Sea mud is world-renowned for skin care, but I wasn’t sure how Dead Sea mud would fare in a shampoo. Little did I know, you can actually get mega-fabulous and mega-clean hair using a Dead Sea mud shampoo! It sounds counterintuitive, but it works.

My hair tends to be on the thin side with a little bit of wave to it, so I need all the lift and oomph I can get from a shampoo. Adovia Dead Sea Mud Shampoo delivered volume in spades. Many of my waves near my face actually turned into little ringlets, an effect I did not expect. After years of living with such flat, limp hair, it’s fantastic to find a product that actually provides all of the volume it promises, and then some.

My next favorite feature of this Adovia shampoo is its heavenly scent, which is kind of like a sweet perfume with baby powder notes. There is no earthy or mud-like smell, like you might be afraid of with a product containing so many natural ingredients. (It is not a 100 percent natural product, however.) The scent lasted on my hair even on the days I skipped a wash. (If you have thin hair like me, you often have to skip a day here and there to avoid stripping the natural oils from the hair and making it even flatter.)

In addition to volume and a gorgeous scent, my hair was shiny and moisturized. I had also been having dry scalp issues again when I received the shampoo in the mail, and I found instant relief on first use with this product; in less than a week, my scalp was balanced and normal again. I later discovered that individuals with psoriasis rave about the Adovia Shampoo and its efficacy when they are dealing with flare ups. The bottle says the shampoo is for people of all hair types, though, so you don’t need to suffer from dry scalp like I do to benefit from Adovia’s product.

All in all, my test was highly successful, and I plan to buy more Adovia Dead Sea Mud Shampoo when my bottle runs out–a sure sign of a winning product with valid benefits.

Finally someone has invented a sugar scrub that exfoliates and moisturizes without either scratching your skin or leaving a slippery residue in the bottom of the bathtub–Body Shop, with its deliciously scented Honeymania Body Scrub. (I kind of want to eat it, but that’s not recommended.)

The scrub, which will make your bathroom smell just like a summer meadow in July, contains fair trade honey from Ethiopia, a natural moisturizer that also has antibacterial properties.

Although the product is categorized as a “scrub,” which sounds harsh, it’s actually very soft, creamy and spreadable; you can smooth it on with little effort. Other sugar scrubs contain granules so large they can scratch the skin; in contrast, the Honeymania scrub has a gooey, smooth, emollient texture.

Even better is the fact it rinses off clean without leaving sugar grains or a greasy film behind; you emerge from your shower feeling smooth and soft rather than oily and you don’t have to be afraid of falling in your tub the next time you step into it.

To be fair, the scrub doesn’t really bubble; but I also purchased the very-bubbly Honeymania shower gel, which is dense and heavily scented, just the way I like it. And I must sheepishly admit I also bought the body butter, which sinks into the skin fast, a benefit I appreciate. I’m a sucker for a nice bath and body product set.

The Honeymania line also includes a lip balm, a bath melt (so tempting!) and related products; you can find your own at your local Body Shop location.

A brisk, bracing Italian cappuccino to help wake you up at dawn. A hot bubble bath after an arduous day at work. Sipping champagne from a delicate glass flute at your best friend’s wedding. Blowing bubbles with your niece in the summertime. Guzzling green apple soda when you’re totally parched. Foamy surf crashing to shore at the beach. Moisturizing lather in the shower. A thick head forming on your lager as you perch on a bar stool in your favorite neighborhood dive. Receiving a scalp massage during your shampoo at the spa. Strawberry milkshakes and frothy chocolate floats.

The best things in life are bubbly, that’s for sure.

This blog–which celebrates all things effervescent–was launched by me, Miss Bubbles, in spring 2014, just as the first few snowdrop blossoms emerged, heralding an end to one of the wettest, snowiest, coldest winters the Mid-Atlantic region has seen in years.

After so many months of dealing with freezing temperatures and thumping around in clunky snow boots, it’s uplifting to contemplate bubbles, which are all about light and flight, delicacy, levity and fun–characteristics I also associate with spring. What a perfect time of year to launch a new blog.